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Lawbird is a firm of Spanish Lawyers specialized in property law, corporate law, litigation and immigration law. Whether you plan to buy a house, start a company or relocate to Spain, we offer a no-nonsense service to assist you.

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cakeDescriptionLawbird is a English speaking Spanish Lawfirm with more than 15 years of experience in helping clients worldwide with their investments in Spain

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title_for_layoutLawbird | Spanish Lawyers and Solicitors you can rely on

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ID1512

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post_date2017-02-23 11:58:17

post_date_gmt2017-02-23 10:58:17

post_content<img class="alignright wp-image-1515" src="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/OVP_spanish-property-scam_Sunday-Life-204x300.jpg" alt="OVP_spanish property scam_Sunday Life" width="245" height="361" />More than 1,000 buyers from the UK and Ireland lost £45m after Birmingham- based <strong>Ocean View Properties (OVP)</strong> was formally dissolved in 2009. OVP was the exclusive agent for the Manilva Gardens luxury holiday complex in Estepona on the Costa del Sol. It was behind successful overseas property enterprises, but ran into difficulties as UK agent for Spanish developer <strong>Ricardo Miranda Miret</strong>. A claim for fraud and misappropriation of funds was lodged in February 2011 in a bid to recover deposits paid by investors to OVP. It has more than 50 Northern Irish investors among 120 claimants for £9.2m. A second class action complaint for £2m, brought by 30 British and Irish investors, was filed in 2013. Many Northern Irish investors remortgaged homes to finance their dream luxury buys. One local investor was Armagh ex-teacher Ollie Reel, who now works for a firm helping investors to recover their lost money. Mr Reel and his three brothers sank thousands of pounds into the deal, but have managed to get some of it back.
“It started in 2006 and through a few good friends, mainly in GAA circles, they invested in Spain and I was persuaded at that time it could be good for me as well and I couldn’t lose out,” he told an Irish radio station. “The economy was booming and everyone was going mad buying property, like everyone else I got caught up in the euphoria of it all. “If only I had known what was ahead of me, I would never have considered it. “The investment I was involved in was in Estepona in Spain and there was about 100 of us on both sides of the border, I suppose we lost a combined €12m.
“These apartments were all fully furnished, they were very good at advertising it, they flew groups of us down to Spain and we stood on the actual site and we were all taken in by owning a new property in Spain.” He added: “The company went bust and it was down to the fact that the developer who was building our property hadn’t even got a building licence.” Mr Reel explained that after going through Spanish lawyers, he eventually was able to recover around half of his £145,000 deposit through a group called the Claims Bureau. He now works as a consultant for the group. The Madrid High Court probe has been beset by delays and setbacks. An investigating judge was replaced after he was found to have family ties to Mr Miranda Miret. In the latest twist, the developer is accused of submitting forged documents in the criminal action.
A spokesman for Marbella- based legal firm <strong>Lawbird</strong> said: “By using these documents, supposedly signed by the secretary of Ocean View in Spain, the developer tried to prove that they had formally notified the estate agent that it was not possible to continue selling apartments as no licences were in place and they didn’t own the land where the development was to be built.” Final witness statements for OVP are to be given on Wednesday. Following these submissions, the judge will decide if the case should proceed to trial. Mr Miranda Miret and others accused have all strongly denied any wrongdoing. Former Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry and BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer star Martin Roberts, who starred on I’m a Celebrity, were among those duped into marketing luxury off-plan apartments for the firm, though neither benefited in any way, or had any knowledge of the alleged irregularities.
<a href="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/OVP_spanish-property-scam_Sunday-Life.pdf">Original print (PDF ~ 4Mb)</a>

post_titleAlleged Spanish scammer accused over documents

post_category0

post_excerptA SPANISH developer alleged to have scammed over 50 Northern Irish investors in a multi-million pound property deal has been accused of forging documents

post_content<img class="" src="http://e01-elmundo.uecdn.es/assets/multimedia/imagenes/2016/01/07/14521566813907.jpg" width="392" height="241" />
(Photo: <a href="http://lorenzofotografo.com/">M. Lorenzo</a>)
A Court in Madrid has awarded 6 off-plan property buyers a grand total of circa <strong>four hundred thousand Euros</strong>, inclusive of interest, as a result of a bank guarantee claim filed against BBVA bank, the second largest in Spain.
The Court found against the bank as a result of the existence of a collective bank guarantee issued by the bank, despite no individual guarantees being available for each investor. On this occasion, it was not necessary to invoke the Supreme court case law as the merits for winning the case had been already established by previous Appeal Court rulings.

post_content<a href="http://www.legal500.com/firms/17026-lawbird-legal-services-spl/offices/22694-malaga/profile"><img class="alignright wp-image-1440 size-full" src="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/legal-500.png" alt="legal-500" width="200" height="206" /></a>We are happy to announce that <strong>Lawbird</strong> has joined the Legal 500 index, following an invitation we have received from their staff.
<a href="http://www.legal500.com/">Legal 500</a> is the world's leading legal referral site. It offers the definitive judgement of law firm capabilities. We are proud that the Legal 500 recognises Lawbird as a firm worth recommending in Málaga.
<ul>
<li><a title="Lawbird in The Legal 500" href="http://www.legal500.com/firms/17026-lawbird-legal-services-spl/offices/22694-malaga/profile">Lawbird listing for 2014</a></li>
</ul>

post_content<p style="text-align: justify;">The Malaga Mercantile Court 1 Bis, with date<a href="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PalacioJusticia.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-1428 size-medium" src="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PalacioJusticia-300x199.jpg" alt="PalacioJusticia" width="300" height="199" /></a> of the 7th of May 2014, has formally accepted a lawsuit filed by 15 pensioners against Rothschild, its jurisdiction on the subject matter and service of process on the Spanish addresses provided for N.M. Rothschild & Sons (Madrid and Barcelona).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">According to the Unfair Competition and Protection Against Consumer Advertising, as ammended, (law 29/2009, of December 30, 2009), <strong>any service provider that advertises in Spain is obligated to run decent, legal, honest and truthful advertising</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">According to Lawbird Legal Services Rothschild offered a product, <strong>the Credit Select Series Mortgage Loan</strong>, that was sold to pensioners as a legal means to reduce the value of their otherwise unencumbered homes, for Inheritance Tax mitigation purposes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Tax Office, on the contrary, has ruled that such scheme <a href="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/spanish-tax-office-will-not-accept-equity-release-to-mitigate-taxes/">constitutes fraud</a>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Acting pensioners have demanded from Rothschild that their mortgages, <strong>with a combined value of over €4 million</strong>, are cancelled (action for removal of effects). But also, lawyers have filed, in conjunction with the most pressing 'removal of effects action', a main and principal declaratory action, an action for cessation, future prohibition and for rectification of misleading, inaccurate or false information.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With the new law it is also possible, if the court deems appropriate, to order that the judgment be published in whole or in part (this remedy is no longer dependent on an action for damages), or that a corrective statement be made.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, it is worth mentioning that this case, alongside another one dealt with by the Criminal Courts in Denia, <a href="http://erva.es/2014/01/23/rothschild-dewsnip-danske-nykredit-and-sydbank-mentioned-in-parliament/">was a matter of Parliamentary discussion</a> by <strong>MP Huw Irranca-Davies and Conservative Treasury Minister Sajid Javid. </strong></p>

post_titleN.M. Rothschild and Sons to be Notified of Legal Proceedings by Malaga Mercantile Court

post_content<p style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Palatinum1.jpg"><img class="alignright wp-image-1419" src="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Palatinum1-300x200.jpg" alt="How Palatinum would look like" width="293" height="177" /></a>A Court in Madrid has ordered that “Caja de Ahorros de Murcia” is liable to return over €400,000 in deposits paid by British investors in the failed <strong>Urbanizadora Costa Palatinum/Proyectos Antele </strong>resort.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In a post written almost 4 years ago, we dubbed this developer <a href="http://belegal.com/blog-by-antonio-flores/defaulting-spanish-developers-to-prove-destination-of-deposits-or-else/">“civil swindler”</a> for taking deposits to finance an off-plan development that were never used for its intended purpose, in our opinion, fraudulently.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Consequently Lawbird Legal Services, represented by <a href="https://www.lawbird.com/staff/Roberto.Leiro">Roberto Leiro</a>, sued the developer in a Criminal Court in Murcia hoping that the Judge took notice of the fact that whilst the construction of this development was being aborted –with no mention of returning deposits- a newer project was being proposed in…Venezuela.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As was the case, the Judge took no notice and the case was dismissed. However, the ruse had worked for us as the developer made full disclosure and submitted revealing documents that were otherwise out of our reach: <strong>a general bank guarantee issued by Caja Murcia to guarantee the Costa Antele Aparthotel</strong> and several <strong>bank account statements</strong>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With this document in hand, we filed a case in Madrid (avoiding where possible Murcia) against Caja Murcia <strong>demanding the return of off-plan deposits,</strong> based on the 57/1968 Act on Off-Plan Property Down Payments,<strong> as it was our understanding that:</strong></p>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>A recent Supreme Court ruling had concluded that for the 57/1968 Act to apply, the off-plan property should be used for family living accommodation purposes, whether temporary, accidental or circumstantial.</li>
<li>The developer had voluntarily submitted to the 57/1968 Act by producing a general bank guarantee that specifically referred to the Act.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Court, on hearing the parties, upheld our allegations and ruled in favour of our customers, <strong>ordering Caja Murcia to make a full refund of the capital,</strong> <strong>plus interest</strong>. What are the conclusions to be drawn from this ruling? A few, and not just legal:</p>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li style="text-align: justify;">Most Courts are rejecting 2 defense arguments used by financial institutions who refuse responsibility on grounds that deposits were not paid into the “special bank account”, or that claimants did not have an individual policy.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li>Buyers in this development now have an opportunity to seek relief by filing against Caja Murcia, on the basis of documentation we hold and the conclusions of this rulings. We are unsure however whether claimants who already sued the bank and lost their cases would be able to “revisit” the matter and sue again, by submitting new fresh allegations.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: justify;">
<li style="text-align: justify;">It is recommendable to avoid suing in Murcia, or its neighbouring province, Alicante. Both jurisdictions have, in our opinion, a large density of bank/developer-friendly Judges who are becoming known for their bank-liability-exoneration-rulings, and also developers.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Roberto Leiro will now issue enforcement proceedings for recovery of the deposits, a faily uncomplicated process considering that technically banks are mostly a "liquid asset" and tend to pay up promptly.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Have you been caught out in the <strong>Urbanizadora Costa Palatinum/Proyectos Antele </strong>fiasco? If so, contact us.</p>

post_content<img class="alignright wp-image-1515" src="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/OVP_spanish-property-scam_Sunday-Life-204x300.jpg" alt="OVP_spanish property scam_Sunday Life" width="245" height="361" />More than 1,000 buyers from the UK and Ireland lost £45m after Birmingham- based <strong>Ocean View Properties (OVP)</strong> was formally dissolved in 2009. OVP was the exclusive agent for the Manilva Gardens luxury holiday complex in Estepona on the Costa del Sol. It was behind successful overseas property enterprises, but ran into difficulties as UK agent for Spanish developer <strong>Ricardo Miranda Miret</strong>. A claim for fraud and misappropriation of funds was lodged in February 2011 in a bid to recover deposits paid by investors to OVP. It has more than 50 Northern Irish investors among 120 claimants for £9.2m. A second class action complaint for £2m, brought by 30 British and Irish investors, was filed in 2013. Many Northern Irish investors remortgaged homes to finance their dream luxury buys. One local investor was Armagh ex-teacher Ollie Reel, who now works for a firm helping investors to recover their lost money. Mr Reel and his three brothers sank thousands of pounds into the deal, but have managed to get some of it back.
“It started in 2006 and through a few good friends, mainly in GAA circles, they invested in Spain and I was persuaded at that time it could be good for me as well and I couldn’t lose out,” he told an Irish radio station. “The economy was booming and everyone was going mad buying property, like everyone else I got caught up in the euphoria of it all. “If only I had known what was ahead of me, I would never have considered it. “The investment I was involved in was in Estepona in Spain and there was about 100 of us on both sides of the border, I suppose we lost a combined €12m.
“These apartments were all fully furnished, they were very good at advertising it, they flew groups of us down to Spain and we stood on the actual site and we were all taken in by owning a new property in Spain.” He added: “The company went bust and it was down to the fact that the developer who was building our property hadn’t even got a building licence.” Mr Reel explained that after going through Spanish lawyers, he eventually was able to recover around half of his £145,000 deposit through a group called the Claims Bureau. He now works as a consultant for the group. The Madrid High Court probe has been beset by delays and setbacks. An investigating judge was replaced after he was found to have family ties to Mr Miranda Miret. In the latest twist, the developer is accused of submitting forged documents in the criminal action.
A spokesman for Marbella- based legal firm <strong>Lawbird</strong> said: “By using these documents, supposedly signed by the secretary of Ocean View in Spain, the developer tried to prove that they had formally notified the estate agent that it was not possible to continue selling apartments as no licences were in place and they didn’t own the land where the development was to be built.” Final witness statements for OVP are to be given on Wednesday. Following these submissions, the judge will decide if the case should proceed to trial. Mr Miranda Miret and others accused have all strongly denied any wrongdoing. Former Aston Villa captain Gareth Barry and BBC’s Homes Under The Hammer star Martin Roberts, who starred on I’m a Celebrity, were among those duped into marketing luxury off-plan apartments for the firm, though neither benefited in any way, or had any knowledge of the alleged irregularities.
<a href="http://www.lawbird.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/OVP_spanish-property-scam_Sunday-Life.pdf">Original print (PDF ~ 4Mb)</a>

post_titleAlleged Spanish scammer accused over documents

post_category0

post_excerptA SPANISH developer alleged to have scammed over 50 Northern Irish investors in a multi-million pound property deal has been accused of forging documents

post_contentCourt of First Instance 11 in Bilbao has ruled that twelve mortgage loans valued at six million euros, granted to British families mostly in Malaga province between 2004 and 2007, should be declared void.
The case was dealt with in Bilbao as all loans were granted at a notary in the city, and the representatives of the lender, SL Mortgage Funding nº1 Limited (SLMF), were also based in the Basque city, according to<strong> Lawbird Legal Services SLP</strong>.
These loans were sold to attain a reduction in potential inheritance tax, inasmuch as the mortgage would reduce the taxable value of the property, but also to supplement the modest pensions received by the owners of the properties.
<strong>SL Mortgage Funding nº1 Limited (SLMF)</strong>, based in Chester (UK), had not applied for the necessary regulatory permits to legally raise funds from the public and provide an investment service - activities reserved and regulated by the Bank of Spain and the CNMV (financial regulator).
In spite of not having any of the above authorisations, SLMF would lend but at the same time retain most of the proceeds of the loan, which would then be invested by the company.
The ruling declares that “infringing the protocols set by the relevant administrative authority to supervise the disputed product is a regulatory violation that exceeds that of a mere breach of banking laws, such as misselling, so profusely dealt with recently in relation to the massive sale of complex financial products.”
The judge who presided over this case concluded that the breach of public policy “is far more serious” as it made a mockery of a whole system of financial and banking supervision designed to prevent abuses to consumers and protect the stability of the sector. He likened this behaviour “civil fraud”, which is any proposal that contravenes mandatory regulations or has a false or forbidden reason.
The sale of this product was conducted via commission-earning financial advisory firms (<strong>Hamiltons Financial Services</strong>, <strong>Henry Woods Investment Management</strong> and others), based in Estepona, Marbella and Fuengirola. SLMF also recommended a network of lawyers which would downplay the extent of the lack of licensing requirements of the bank and the product.
According to Lawbird Legal Services SLP, working on behalf of the claimants, the ruling confirms that “operating in breach of mandatory banking and financial regulations makes the offender a ‘boiler room’, even if the company was legally operating in its own country”. It also allows the victims to “end the nightmare” which has blighted the victims for over ten years.
The judge concluded by saying that all contracts and agreements executed between the clients and the bank should be terminated, but also applied the laws of contractual termination in a novel way with the clients able to claim back everything they had put in without having to return what was given to them.”